Further inspection found the dislocated rocker seriously scored and damaged the cam, valve guide and top of valve. This required the removal of the left cyl head to R&R the valve. On top, a new left intake cam, spring, rocker, guide, etc...and all the trimmings.

PLUS - in the breakdown, requiring the removal of the intake manifold, it was found that the left side tumble flap actuator was broken on the exterior of the manifold, possibly indicating that the internals of the tumbler malfunctioned, causing a piece of the flap to be sucked into the #5 cyl, momentarily disrupting the valve.

After inspecting the internals of the old manifold, indeed that was the case. The left side tumble flap had broken into 2 pieces, flopping freely inside the manifold. Compared to the right side flap, which remains uniform in its structure and motion, something in the left side flap had disintegrated, supporting the notion that a piece could have been sucked into the #5cyl intake port. In fact, the point at which the flap was most loose was directly above the #5 cyl.

Here are a new photos for your entertainment.

Plastic in an Engine? Good idea? Bad Idea? Did it save me from a total disaster or cause this extremely expensive situation?

I can only say good things about the team at RBM of Atlanta for the way they helped me and kept me in the loop. Forum-folk are not usually the typical client. They entertained every question, walked me through each step and treated me fairly on parts prices and labor rates.... Let's hope the tech followed his MOPs and the torque wrench was dead-on

The proper way to fix is lifting the head as they had done. The "gas in the tank is worth more than the car " / " I'm fixing my own car and will risk it" fix would be.:

Lift the intake, remove plastic from the intake valve, scrape / polish off the soft metal transfer on the cam lobe, inspect the rocker roller for damage ( the rocker looks like it could go again ) replace the intake flap system.

This kind of fix would last as the cam is pretty hard and the rocker body soft. However it is unlikely that a shop would risk actual or perceived liability if something else failed down the road.